Contexts that cast cards in a new light

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Sep 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

noby	16 Sep 2004
When first looking at the meaning of the tarot cards, it seemed that some of the cards always indicated something negative (like the Devil) and some of the cards always indicated something positive (like the World card). A recent spread showed me that this is not always the case. The following is from a journal entry I recently wrote: My tarot cards had sat on a shelf collecting dust for months, until about a month ago, on a similar whim to the one which had prompted me to buy them, I pulled them out, shuffled them, and laid out a spread. The first card I drew, the card that represented myself and my main concern at the time, was the Queen of Swords, a fiercely independent woman of thought, whose suit, Swords, indicates she is prone to conflict. The card which I drew second, which crosses the first card and represents immediate obstacles, was the World card. The World card is an absolutely joyous card, representing success, fulfillment, and triumph as a cycle is culminated. The card represents incredible levels of realization and fulfillment in life, and I had no problem accepting that, as extraordinary as it was, this was the case in my life. I'd made a powerful choice to take time off from college and had been extremely rewarded by it, with a reconnection to family, a sense of assurance and certainty about the spiritual path I had chosen, time spent in a fascinating work environment that had reconnected me to my body and helped me physically work through much of what had been stagnating in my subconscious, and the initiation and development of an incredibly rewarding sexual relationship, something for which I'd yearned for years. There was no doubt that all that I'd left college hoping to find had been found, that I'd settled into the sanity I'd sought, and that I'd come around to the culmination represented in the World card, at least on a secular level and in regard to all I'd originally set out to do. Yet while I knew the card was right on the money in capturing where my life was at the time, I could not understand its position in the spread. I had a really hard time understanding how this joy and success, this absolute fulfillment on every level, could be an obstacle, and thought maybe my problem-solving mind would not be able to interpret this spread in any illuminating way. Yet I persisted, and it became clear to me that the cards really had fallen into place in a very appropriate way to help me look at my situation in a different light. The sense of unrest I was feeling had arisen because I'd succeeded so completely in finding so much of what I had been looking for - which left me with nothing to work toward, nothing to engage myself in, and nothing with which to motivate myself. I was not inspired to pursue new endeavors because I had no goal in mind and nothing left to work toward. A documentary on the Holy Grail I'd watched had suggested that we all need something to quest for to be content, and as such, success is a double-edged sword: we find what we have so passionately desired, but as such are left without the joy, meaning, and inspiration we have when we are on the quest. On top of the hormonal fluctuations that had affected my emotions, I'd come to a place of listlessness, a lack of motion and settling into stays, because my ship had nowhere to unfurl its sails and set off toward. So the context of the World card as repesenting a conflict or obstacle showed that even realizing a level of fulfillment I'd previously only dreamed of had its downside, as it left me not knowing where to go next, not having anything to get motivated to work toward. Since examining that spread, I've begun to examine my life and motivations, and look for new goals to set out towards, new journeys to begin. What experiences have you all had where a card you thought you understood revealed a whole new side to itself through its context and placement in a spread?

darwinia	16 Sep 2004
Noby, have you been reading my cards again!! :eek:

Imagemaker	16 Sep 2004
What a great example you gave of a thorough reading, and indeed, every card has a gift and a shadow. Your analysis of your world card covered them both quite wisely. And another more clearly "negative" card (in the obstacle position) with an obvious shadow would also have a gift of presenting a reason/urge/goal to move out of the shadow. I like to think of movement and blockage rather than values of good and bad for each card. A positive card can cause too much movement, or a blockage to, as you suggested, further growth. May your Devils move you forward and your Worlds, too!

mehndigirl	18 Sep 2004
Noby, Thank you so much for sharing! This is where I have the most trouble. Ya know, understanding the story. I grasp the card meanings for the most part, but putting the story together is still a struggle. If you read the post on the language of tarot, I see this as the grammer. (Something I also have trouble with in the mundane world or real words too.) Your journal entry gave me a new way to put it together. Thank you mehndigirl

feticeira	19 Sep 2004
Thanks for the post, one of those interesting eye-openers! This happened to me with the Sun, so much joy, love and light in the "con" position of the situation... and yes, it was sort of like with your World: it referred to me having nothing to look toward to and made me take that light for granted. It actually led me to the 4 of Cups! Now that it´s over, I finally get to understand it ;)

Jewel-ry	19 Sep 2004
Great thread noby, I did a spread for my daughter as regards her upcoming exam results and whether she would achieve her dream and get into Uni to study Medicine. I used the Tarot of Prague and pulled the Devil for the likely outcome. For those of you who don't have this deck, I put up a link here http://www.tarotofprague.com/cards2.html In the light of the rest of the spread, I interpreted this as being able to 'go wild with excitement, let your hairdown, put your arms in the air and shout, Yes!' - Obviously this carried a warning to beware of excess celebration :D. I have never before interpreted this card this way but it just seemed so obvious at the time. The card just spoke to me and as it turned out, this is exactly what she did! ~

The Contexts that cast cards in a new light thread was originally posted on 16 Sep 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.